Clothes hanger



Feb. 26, 1952 BURNS 2,586.913

CLOTHES HANGER Filed April 8, 1948 Jim/EN 7'09: 52005 Bum/s By Ms A TTOR/VEYJ wee/5 Mac/ 5s 75/? {HAP/W5 Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CLOTHES HANGER Bruce Burns, Yucca Valley, Calif. Application April 8, 1948, Serial No. 19,797

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to improvements in clothes hangers and more particularly to a clothes hanger having extendible arms which can be folded to permit the hanger to be slipped through the neck of a garment or readily packed for traveling.

Many garments, such as shirts, blouses and childrens dresses, when hung upon clothes hangers of conventional type must have the neck opening unbuttoned to permit the insertion of the hanger into the body of the garment. But, after the garment has been hung up the opening has to be buttoned again to insure that it will not wrinkle and that it will not slip ofi the hanger.

This problem is particularly vexatious in the manufacture of dresses and blouses with small neck openings. When these garments, are pressed in the factory, the opening is closed. However, to permit the hanging of the garments while they are awaiting shipment, the opening Another object of my invention is the provision of a clothes hanger having extendible arms which is light in weight, has few working parts and can be easily and cheaply manufactured.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear from the following specification and the drawing, which are for the purpose of illustration only and in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical elevational view showing a hanger constructed in accordance with my invention with the arms extended;

Fig. 2 is a vertical, partially sectional view taken on broken line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical elevational view showing the hanger with its arms folded; I

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the manher in which the hanger arms can be folded with must be unbuttoned and buttoned again. When the garments are removed from conventional hangers for shipping, the same process must be run through all over again. Finally, when the clothes are unpacked in the store the opening must once again be unbuttoned and buttoned when the garment is hung up for display. Not only does this buttoning and unbuttoning of the clothes consume, in the aggregate, a great amount of time, but, due to excessive handling, it is not long before the neck opening of garment becomes crumpled or soiled and the value and salability'of the merchandise reduced. In addition, there is always a possibility that a packer or sales person will-attempt to remove a garment from the hanger without opening the neck, thus tearing the garment and reducing its value. Of course, similar problems arise in the home and there is areal need for a hanger which can be inserted in the body of the garment without opening the neck.

It is a primary object of-my invention to provide a clothes hanger which has extendible arms whichcan be folded to permit the insertion'of the hanger into the body of a garment Without opening the neck closur Another object of my invention is the provision of a clothes hanger which has extendible arms which can be folded through the medium of retraction means connected to the arms. A further object of my invention is the pro: vision of a clothes hanger having extendible arms which have embodied thereupon'suspensory ele ments adapted to support skirts or similar gar.- ments.

one hand;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1 and showing the means used to suspend its arms from the hanger;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view taken on broken line 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view which shows the manner of securing the extension element to the arms.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 7, Ishow a clothes hanger I0 having a yoke member l2 and a pair of garment supporting arm members l3 pivotally supported on said yoke member. The hanger I0 is shown as manufactured from a plastic ma teriaLbut I do not intend to limit my invention to any particular material since it could 0on ceivably be fashioned with equal facility out of wood or metal.

' The yoke member l2 of the hanger I0 is of generally arcuate conformation to conform to the shoulder line of the suspended garment and consists of a front molding l4 and a back mold: The front molding I4 and the back mold-. ing l5 may be cemented or otherwise permanently joined together and a pilot boss I6 is formed on the interior of thefront molding l4 which fits into a pilot hole I! on the back molding l5 to permit the accurate registry of the moldings while they are assembled.

Formed integrally on the top of the yoke mem'- ber I2 is an annular, flanged gripping portion l9 which is crowned by a cylindrical boss 2|. The cylindrical boss Zl-is capped by a ferrule 22 which is adapted to assist in securing the front and back moldings of the yoke l2 together. A vertical hole 23 is formed in the center of the yoke which registers with a hole 24 formed in the center of the ferrule22. Revolubly mounted in the hole 23 is a cylindrical stud member or. suspension member 25 which has an enlarged foot portion 25 secured within a cavity 21 formed in the interior of the yoke [2 at the base of the hole 23 in such a manner as to prevent the dislodgment of the stud member 25 from the hole 23.

The upper end of the stud member 25 has a cylindrical knob 28 formed integrally therewith which has a transverse hole 29 in it adapted to receive the lower end 31 of a hook member 32 from which the hanger I is intended to be suspended. The hook member 32 is revoluble in the hole 29 and can thus be folded downwards, as best shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, to permit the use of the hanger ID for traveling purposes. The annular, flanged gripping portion IQ of the yoke 12 is designed to permit the hanger ID to be suspended between two fingers of one hand while the arms l3 of the hanger arebeing folded, as shown in Fig. 4.

As indicated above, the garment supporting arms 13 of the hanger N are pivotally mounted upon the yoke l2. The pivot means 33, as best shown in Fig. 5, upon which the arms [3 are suspendedis formed integrally with the yoke 12 and consists of an instruck, circular male member 34 formed in the back molding I which is adapted to project through a hole 35 formed in the inner end of the arm l3 and be seated in a flanged orifice 36 integrally formed in the front molding I 4. Therefore, the arms 13 are secured to the yoke 12 at the time that the front and back moldings are joined together and there is no need for the utilization of auxiliary screws or pins to retain the arms l3 in the yoke 12.

The arms l 3 are of identical conformation and are so shaped as to adequately receive and support a garment which is hung thereupon. As shown in Fig. 6, the arms l3 are generally of l. or T cross section over the greater portion of their length and have stop .portions 31 integrally formed in their inner ends which are adapted to impinge on stop portions 38 formed-on the underside -of the yoke l2 and thus efiectively prevent the arms 13 from being folded or extended beyond definite, predetermined limits. Disposedupon the inner endsof the arm members f3 and positioned opposite each other are integrallyformed frusto-conical bosses 39 which are adapted to act as securingmeans for the ends of an extension element 4| which, in the embodiment of the invention under consideration, consists of a close wound helical spring 42 having its opposite ends 43 pressedpscrewed or otherwise adequately secured to the bosses 39. I do not intend to limit my invention to the utilization of a close wound helical spring as an extension element since it is conceivable that other expedients, such as hour glass wound or barrel shape wound springs, having the same function might be'r'eadily substituted therefor.

As clearly-shown in Fig. 7, each end 43 of the spring 42 is considerably expanded upon one of thebosses 39 and serves to partially obstruct an opening onto a track-45 which is created upon the lower flange of each arm l3. Mounted upon each track 45 and adapted to be moved thereupon is a suspensory element '46 which has a groove "41 cut in its top whichis adapted tosecure the suspensory element 46 upon the'track. The 70 suspensory elements are of substantially hookshaped configuration and are adapted to support a-skirt'or similar garment. The suspensory elements 46 are installed upon the tracks 45 by being inserted through the openings 44. This installation takes place before the extension element 4| is mounted upon the bosses 39. Once the suspensory elements 43 are installed upon the tracks 45 and the extension element 4| mounted upon the bosses 39, the suspensory elements 46 cannot be inadvertently dropped or otherwise removed from the tracks 45. They are kept upon the tracks 45 because the openings 44 to the tracks 45 are partially blocked by the enlarged ends 43 of the spring'42. Thus,,the spring '42 serves not only to keep the arms l3 extended but also to retain the suspensory elements 49 upon the track 45.

When the spring 42 is positioned between the inner ends of the arms l3 in its normally straight state, it keeps the arms 13 extended outwardly from. the yoke 12. Even a heavy load imposed on the outer ends of the arms l3 will not overcome the columnar effect supplied by the spring 42. However, as most clearly shown in Fig. 4, when the-hanger I0 is supported between two fingers of one hand and the thumb of the same hand is placed below the spring 42, a light 'upward movement of the thumb will cause upward deflection of the spring 42 and pull the arms l3 in and. down until they assumethe position'shown in Fig. 3. The hanger i0 is then susceptible of being removed from or inserted in the closed neckof agarment.

Formed integrally with the extreme outer ends of the arms f3 are oppositely disposed hook elements 49 which, when engaged. one within the other in cooperative relationship, as shown in Fig. '3, prevent the movement of the arms 13 into the extended position. The engagement of the hook elements 49 isachieved by slightly deflecting one armlaterally as the ends of the arms are brought together. The expansive force of the spring 42 tends to urge the arms '43 apart'but in so-doing also engages the hook elements '49 more securely with each other. By providing the hook elements 49 to secure the ends of the arms together andthe revolubl'e 'hook element 32, I adapt the hanger for use 'as a traveling hanger which can be easily and readily'packed away.

Myinvention'provides a clothes hanger having garment supporting arms which can be readily folded with one hand which will,'wh'en extended, assume a garme'ht'supporting position. Alsoprovided in the hanger are suspenso'ry elements which are retained upon the hanger by'means of the extension. elementv which keeps the arms in the extended position. The hanger consists of a small number of parts, can be easily assembled and manufactured and can he a moderately priced article.

Although I- have shownand describedpreferred embodiments of my invention, it will be appreciated that other elements may be substituted for the elements shown-herein, and I, therefore, do not intend tobe limited to the specificconstruction shown but desire to be afiforded the hill scope of thefollowingclaims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A clothes hanger adapted, when in its open position, to support a garment, the parts of which are adapted to be moved from said open position into a closed position in which they can be readily inserted into a garment through the neck opening thereof without unbuttoning the garment, comprising: a central yoke; a suspension member secured in the upper central portion'of said yoke and extending upwardly therefrom, the upper portion of said suspension member-beingso shaped as to be readily engaged "by a hook or other supporting member; two garment sup-porting arms, one of these garment supporting arms being pivoted at one end to one side of said yoke and the other of these garment supporting arms being pivoted at one end to the other side of said yoke, said yoke being narrower in width than the neck of a garment which the hanger is designed to support, the upper edges of said arms when said hanger is in its open position being so curved as to conform to the shoulder lines of said garment; and a helical spring, one end of said spring engaging one of said arms and the other end of said spring engaging the other of said arms, said spring being so placed and of such length that when said arms are in their extended position the spring extends in a straight line between said arms and acts as a column or strut which resists any tendency of said arms to move away from said extended position.

2. A clothes hanger adapted, when in its extended position, to support a garment by extending outwardly at either side of a yoke and inside said garment, the parts of which are adapted to be moved to a closed position in which they can be inserted into a garment through the neck opening thereof without unbuttoning the garment, comprising: a central yoke; two legs formed in said yoke straddling a central space in the center of said yoke; a suspension member engaging said yoke and adapted to be engaged by a hook or other supporting means; two garment supporting arms, one of these garment supporting arms being pivoted on one of said legs of said yoke and the other of said garment supporting arms being pivoted on the other leg of said yoke, said yoke being narrower in width than the neck space of the garment which it is intended to support, and said garment supporting arms when in their closed position being readily inserted into the garment through the neck space of said garment without unbuttoning the garment, the upper edges of said garment supporting arms, when said hanger is in its open position, being curved to conform to the shoulder lines of said garment; and a helical spring one end of which is secured to and abuts against one of said garment supporting arms and the other end of which abuts against and is secured to the other of said garment supporting arms, said spring being of such length and so placed that when said garment supporting arms are in their open position said spring extends in a straight line between said garment supporting arms and acts as a column or strut resisting any tendency of said garment supporting arms to move out of their open position, said spring being so positioned that when said spring is flexed to allow said garment supporting arms to move into their closed position the central portion of said spring is forced into the space between the legs of said yoke.

3. A clothes hanger adapted, when in its open position, to support a garment, the parts of which are adapted to be moved from said open position into a closed position in which they can be readily inserted into a garment through the neck opening thereof without unbuttoning the garment, comprising: a central yoke; a suspension member secured in the upper central portion of said yoke and extending upwardly therefrom, the upper portion of said suspension member being so shaped as to be readily engaged by a hook or other supporting member; two garment supporting arms, one of these garment supporting arms being pivoted at one end to one side of said yoke and the other of these garment supporting arms being pivoted at one end to the other side of said yoke, said yoke being narrower in width than the neck of a garment which the hanger is designed to support, the upper edges of said arms when said hanger is in its open position being so curved as to conform to the shoulder lines of said garment; and a spring, one end of said spring engaging one of said arms and the other end of said spring engaging the other of said arms, said spring being so placed and of such length that when said arms are in their extended position the spring extends in a straight line between said arms and acts as a column or strut which resists any tendency of said arms to move away from said extended position.

4. A clothes hanger adapted, when in its extended position, to support a garment by extending outwardly at either side of a yoke and inside said garment, the parts of which are adapted to be moved to a closed position in which they can be inserted into a garment through the neck opening thereof without unbuttoning the garment, comprising: a yoke;' a centrally located receptacle formed in said yoke; two garment supporting arms, one of said garment supporting arms being pivoted at one side of said yoke adjacent said receptacle and the other of said garment supporting arms being pivoted at the other side of said yoke adjacent said receptacle, said yoke being narrower in width than the neck space of the garment which it is intended to support, and said garment supporting arms when in their closed position being readily inserted into the garment through the neck space of said garment without unbuttoning the garment, the upper edges of said garment supporting arms, when said hanger is in its open position, being curved to conform to the shoulder lines of said garment; and a spring one end of which is secured to and abuts against one of said garment supporting arms and the other end of which abuts against and is secured to the other of said garment supporting arms, said spring being of such length and so placed that when said garment supporting arms are in their open position said spring extends in a straight line between said garment supporting arms and acts as a column or strut resisting any tendency of said garment supporting arms to move out of their open position, said spring being so positioned that when said spring is flexed to allow said garment supporting arms to move into their closed position the central portion of said spring is forced into the receptacle in said yoke.

BRUCE BURNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

